Death and state funeral of Howard Clinkscales
The death and state funeral of Howard Clinkscales occured on the planet Grayson in 1920 PD. Howard Samson Jonathan Clinkscales, patriarch of his clan, former general of the Protectorate Security Detachment and regent of Harrington Steading, died from natural causes after a long life. Due to his public profile and his close relationship to Honor Harrington and Protector Benjamin IX, he was honored in a funeral mass in the Protector's Cathedral in Austin City. Illness and death of Howard Clinkscales By 1920 PD, Howard Clinkscales had lived for over 92 years, a respectable age for a pre-prolong Grayson. However, his health declined and he eventually fell into a coma from which the doctors feared him not to wake up again. His non-Grayson friends, especially Honor Harrington, took this particulary hard since they were used to being around prolong recipients who would live more than twice as long. Clinkscales did not recover, and died in the hospital some time later. ( ) Funeral mass The funeral mass for Clinkscales was held in the Protector's Cathedral in the planetary capital of Austin City. The Reverend Jeremiah Sullivan himself, leader of the Church of Humanity Unchained, gave the opening prayer and supervised the ceremony. Among those present were Protector Benjamin IX, Honor Harrington with her parents and siblings, James MacGuiness, Nimitz, Willard Neufsteiler, Alfredo Yu, Warner Caslet, Cynthia Gonsalves, Henri and Harriet Benson-Dessouix, and Susan Phillips, as well as diplomats from half a dozen other worlds, including the ambassadors of the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Andermani Empire.Of course, the entire Clinkscales Clan was also present. The coffin was draped in the planetary flag of Grayson and the flag of Harrington Steading, with the silver staff of the Harrington Regent and the sword of the Commanding General of Planetary Security lying on top of it. ( ) Memory As was tradition on Grayson, the funeral mass was concluded with the Memory, the remembering and sharing of cherished moments with the deceased. The first to speak was Protector Benjamin, remembering how he fell from a tree as a child and how Clinkscales comforted him. Next was Honor Harrington, remembering her first meeting with him, followed by Carson Clinkscales, who remembered how his uncle had brought him the news of his father's death. A Brigadier General of Planetary Security next remembered his first day under then-Captain Clinkscales' command. All in all, the Memory, a ritual that normally took about twenty minutes, went on for three hours. ( ) Funeral While Clinkscales remains were interred in the Garden of Memory, a small portion was given to Steadholder Harrington for the Harrington Garden, so that, according to Clinkscales' will, a part of him would be close to his Steadholder. What followed was an important event: in realization of how close the Clinkscales family was to her, Lady Honor Harrington, Steadholder Harrington, established a blood bond between Howard's clan and her own, thus binding the fate of the two families together for all time. ( ) References Category:Specific Events Category:Deaths Category:Grayson Deaths